Duran 'on fire' but under Emery's 'control'

Jhon Duran has made a wont of coming disconnected the substitutes seat and scoring for Aston Villa this season.

On Tuesday, the Colombia guardant made his archetypal commencement astatine Villa Park for 11 months and marked it with his side's 2nd extremity against Bologna successful the Champions League.

Duran's celebrations were chopped abbreviated erstwhile helium was instantly replaced by Ollie Watkins, and helium showed his displeasure by kicking the backmost of 1 of the dugout seats successful frustration.

Unai Emery is not excessively upset with Duran's reaction, however.

Duran present has 7 goals successful each competitions portion Watkins has 5 - 2 forwards delivering goals arsenic Villa bask 1 of their champion starts to a play for years.

"Duran got a extremity again and he's connected fire," erstwhile England defender Matt Upson told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"Villa person large contention for that centre-forward role, with him and Watkins susceptible of scoring goals."

Rewind 3 weeks and Duran was the extremity leader against Bayern Munich, coming disconnected the seat to people the lone extremity of the crippled connected a special nighttime nether the Villa Park floodlights.

His lone erstwhile commencement this play came successful the Carbao Cup triumph implicit League One Wycombe Wanderers.

Against Bologna, Duran had 5 of his team's 16 attempts - including 2 connected target, with his 2nd beating Lukasz Skorupski from adjacent scope aft an assistance from the awesome Morgan Rogers.

"Duran has everything - helium has technique, helium tin clasp the shot and tin flick on. He is an all-round striker," Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans told TNT Sports.

On Duran's absorption to being substituted, Tielemans added: "He is truly funny. The manager does not care. He knows everyone wants to play. It is portion of the game."

Villa person scored 5 goals successful the Champions League this play with Duran, signed successful an £18m woody from Chicago Fire successful January 2023, netting 2 of them.

Victory implicit Bologna came arsenic Emery prepares to observe his 2nd day successful complaint of Villa.

Under the Spaniard, Villa person gone from Premier League strugglers to enjoying their champion commencement to a Premier League play for 26 years.

Duran is intelligibly a large portion of the club's aboriginal plans, with Emery brushing disconnected the player's absorption erstwhile helium came off, saying helium had "no problem" with it.

Asked if helium had immoderate issues with Duran's reaction, Emery said: "No. I americium managing everything and the absorption of players.

"We are sending a connection successful the dressing room: respect our values and effort and beryllium mature and beryllium responsible. It's not lone Jhon Duran, immoderate different players react.

"But it's nether my control."

Who volition commencement up beforehand erstwhile Villa adjacent play successful the Champions League distant to Club Brugge connected 6 November?

"He played precise good and helium scored a bully goal," added Emery astir Duran's performance.

"It was fantastic the mode helium accelerated.

"We volition play some strikers sometimes and erstwhile they play individually arsenic good arsenic contiguous - with Watkins - it is champion for the team."

Upson believes Duran has a large aboriginal astatine Villa.

"He didn't truly get overmuch of a sniff contiguous but helium showed that helium is simply a goalscorer, a poacher, idiosyncratic that is acceptable whenever the accidental comes."